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Emerald Crab

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What are the chances that my emerald ate my tailspot blenny?

The tailspot went missing a couple weeks back, no body anywhere, which happens a lot in reef, but I still wonder what could have happened to it. He was fairly small at 1.5 or maybe 1.75 inches, would a full grown emerald be able to grab it at night?

Sorry to hear of your loss sheamurai. Scavengers are opportunistic. Whether your tailspot wasn't 100% and during the night the crab got a hold of it or if another inhabitant slowed it down enough to weaken it to the point where it was easy prey, a scavenger will take advantage if it's in the right spot at the right time.
Crabs eat what they can get close too. They bait crabs with fish in real life so we can have crab legs.

I have not seen my emeralds go after any fish. But when some frozen food hit the bottom of the tank, they waste no time running out to get it. If they would come across a dead or dying fish, I’m sure they would make short work of it

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

Well, I woulda said this fish was in fine health, I was more thinking that the crab mighta got it at night when they are more active and fish are resting...that's most of the fun and most of the aggravation with reef tanks, sometimes you're just never 100% sure just what the heck is going on in there...

In mine, most of my fish sleep/ rest at the bottom, either hiding behind a rock or in between, which means accessible to the emerald crabs i have. I have lost a blue-green chromis. Could not find any remains the next morning. What i noticed though in the couple of days prior to its demise was that other fish were picking on it and it would not come out to feed and will stay at the bottom. It might have stressed it out. I can't tell if it die out of starvation, stress or was attacked by the crabs. I would doubt though that a crab would go after an healthy specimen.

I had my orange spot goby disappear last month and couldn't find a body. I figured the scavengers dragged him under the rocks and consumed the body until I found him all dried up on the floor behind the tank last week. Never would have guessed he would jump out since my tank is 30" deep and he stayed on the bottom all the time. Furthermore there is only about 1 1/2 inches that isn't covered along the back of the tank so allow for cords and tubing.